The next "Star Wars" feature, "Revenge of the Sith," isn't scheduled to hit theaters until May 19, but already collectors are salivating over the prospect of all the new Obi-Wan Kenobi and Amidala (aka Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman) figures they will soon have at their disposal.

Ever since the first film of the original trilogy opened in 1977, there has been an unequaled barrage of merchandise that has been avidly collected now for close to three decades – from action figures and model kits to trading cards to posters to comic books to novels and videos, clocks, watches, soundtrack records, masks, bean-filled figures and cereal box premiums.

The initial "Star Wars" movie was a box-office-record-smashing space opera featuring groundbreaking special effects – it was selected by Time magazine as the best picture of 1977 and played to packed houses for about a year.

The subsequent two, "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 and "Return of the Jedi" three years later, were equally successful, and the carded action figures of Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Darth Vader, made by Kenner Corp., were gotta-haves for almost every kid in America.

Just before the second movie was released, creator George Lucas regained control of the merchandising rights, so that all the material from "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" can be identified by the Lucasfilm logo.

In fact, there are four or five different styles of packaging for most of these figures, with Kenner changing the logo for each movie as it appeared, while foreign editions displayed the movie titles in three languages and are referred to as Tri-Logo. In 1995-96, new figures were issued on "The Power of the Force" header cards, appealing to a whole new generation of prospective collectors, and also strengthening interest in the earlier cards – particularly those featuring Princess Leia.

When it comes to evaluating these pieces, condition and original packaging are key. Without the box or card backing, at least half the value can immediately be subtracted, and if an important part or accessory is missing, you can forget about it having any value at all. Some of these items – such as a Boba Fett mint on its card, can, according to some price guides, be worth as much as $1,000; others, like the mint, in-box, 12-inch IG-88 from "The Empire Strikes Back," $750. The most valuable are those that are known to fans as "12 backs," which comprise the original dozen figures produced, showing a picture and list of the other figures on the back.

Another treat in store for admirers of all of Lucas' work is a lavish new Abrams book on the subject, "The Cinema of George Lucas" by Marcus Hearn. A full-scale, lavishly illustrated biography of this influential mythmaker as well as a meticulously documented study of the films, it moves from his youth in the San Joaquin Valley, through his beginnings in film at USC, where he worked on the early version of his first feature, "THX 1138" (now fully restored), and its 1969 shooting schedule.

It also details his collaborative relationship with Francis Ford Coppola, the iconic teen movie "American Graffiti," then on to "Star Wars" and the Indiana Jones trilogy, all with fascinating documentary material, including deleted scenes and valuable pre-production notes.

Not surprisingly, it is the "Star Wars" franchise that plays the leading part in the book, up to and including "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" – in which we finally see Anakin Skywalker become the evil Darth Vader, bringing to a conclusion the world's greatest space opera – and it also looks ahead to future innovative projects planned by Lucasfilm.